Mumbai: Firing outside Rohit Shetty’s home planned from Pune

The Mumbai AntiExtortion Cell has arrested four persons from Pune in connection with the firing incident outside filmmaker Rohit Shettyrsquos residence in Juhu Police have also seized the twowheeler used in the crimeInvestigators have established that the arrested accused were in contact with Shubham Lonkar a resident of Akola and an alleged member of the Bishnoi gang who police say masterminded the firing Lonkar later claimed responsibility for the attack through social media postsCCTV footage shows the suspected shooter walking towards Shetty Tower moments before opening fire PicBy Special ArrangementHe is also one of the accused in the Baba Siddique murder case Police said one of the arrested accused Swapnil Bandu Sakat was in direct contact with Lonkar and actively involved in planning the incidentAccused arrestedgtgt Swapnil Bandu Sakat 23 unemployed resident of Vadgaon Pune Police say he was in regular contact with Lonkar and helped plan the firinggtgt Samarth Shivsharan Pomaji 19 a college student and resident of Gulmohar Society Dhayari Pune He allegedly helped arrange money to purchase weapons and the twowheelergtgt Siddharth Deepak Yenpure 19 a delivery executive and resident of Amrapali Society Dhayari Phata Pune He allegedly helped collect funds and arrange the twowheelerThe entrance gate of Shetty Tower in Juhu where five rounds were fired around midnight on Saturday PicSatej Shindegtgt Aditya Dnyaneshwar Gayaki 19 a salesman and resident of Karve Nagar Pune Police say he purchased the twowheeler for 30000 and handed it over to the shooterA fifth accused the shooter is still absconding Police teams are conducting searches to trace himWhat happened at the spotAccording to police Rohit Shetty returned to his residence at Shetty Tower Juhu around 10 pm on Saturday At around 1245 am he was on the seventh floor having dinner with his family Two bodyguards and two police personnel were present as part of his security detailShubham Lonkar PicBy Special ArrangementCCTV footage showed a man standing outside the building Security personnel initially mistook the sound of gunshots for firecrackers However footage later revealed the man carrying a pistol Juhu police were alerted immediately but the shooter fled on a twowheelerPolice said the accused reached the Tulip Star Hotel junction where a police nakabandi was in place He took a Uturn rode towards Juhu Church abandoned the vehicle there and escaped in an autorickshawHow trail led to PuneDuring the investigation police recovered the abandoned twowheeler near Juhu Church Details of the vehicle were shared with the Pune Crime Branch which traced the original owner The owner told police he had sold the vehicle for Rs 30000 to Aditya GayakiPolice said bank transaction records show that all four accused contributed money for purchasing the vehicle and arranging arms for the shooterA police officer said the modus operandi was similar to the earlier firing incident outside actor Salman Khanrsquos Galaxy Apartments in which the Bishnoi gang had also claimed responsibility ldquoShubham Lonkar is the main conspirator in this caserdquo the officer saidWho is Shubham LonkarShubham Lonkar is a resident of Akola who later shifted to Pune Police said he was initially involved in farming and dairyrelated work in Akola before allegedly entering arms supply networksHe was arrested by Akola police in January 2024 in a weapons supply case and later released on bail Lonkar was also named as an accused in the Baba Siddique murder case in October 2024 and was suspected in the earlier firing incident outside Salman Khanrsquos residencePolice said Lonkar had expressed a desire to join the Indian Army but failed to clear the examination Investigators claim he later came in contact with Bishnoi gang members in Rajasthan and became associated with the gang Lonkar and the shooter remain absconding Further investigation is ongoing